Solar Heat Collector

ABSTRACT

Solar heat collector with a pipe in which flows an energetic fluid and a structure consisting of a frame of plastic material with metallic profiles encapsulated during the injection of said plastic material, which allows establishing orifices therein, providing a robust and lightweight collector with few components and dimensionally stable.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention belongs to the field of harnessing solar heat, such as solar heat collectors, and specifically their component parts.

The invention relates to a solar heat collector comprising a pipe in which flows an energetic fluid, and a structure formed by a frame of plastic material with metal profiles encapsulated during injection thereof, and which enables the inclusion of different functions such as thermal insulation, mechanical resistance, a light weight, and integration, thereby defining a robust and lightweight collector that has few components and is dimensionally stable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Solar heat collectors are known comprising a pipe in which flows an energetic fluid and which have a structure that includes a plastic material.

Examples of such collectors can be found in patents DE2713628 with foam and locally positioned reinforcement fibers, CN101070999 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,265 with foam, WO2011009754 with foam in which the collector pipe and the insulator are embedded.

The state of the art therefore includes structures made of foam plastic, mainly some type of polyurethane, normally inside a metal box or the like.

These examples involve the use of several elements just to form the structure, to which other elements must be added in order to form the remaining components of the collector such as evacuation orifices, flanges for the pipes, attachments for the transparent cover, etc. All of this results in collectors with many components that are consequently relatively expensive, difficult to manufacture and heavy.

Moreover, in this field of the art dimensional control of the various components has great importance due to the wide range of working temperatures of collectors. The greater the number of components the longer the string of dimensions that must be combined, and therefore the greater the number of problems caused by component expansion.

To solve the drawbacks of the state of the art, the solar collector described below is proposed which comprises a pipe in which flows an energetic fluid, and a structure made of a frame of plastic material with metallic profiles encapsulated therein during injection, allowing to include orifices and obtain a robust, lightweight collector that has few components and is dimensionally stable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is defined and characterized by the independent claims, while the dependent claims describe additional features thereof.

In view of the above, the present invention relates to a solar heat collector that comprises a pipe in which flows an energetic fluid, an absorbent plate in contact with said pipe, an insulation arranged in parallel to said absorbent plate and located on the side of the pipe opposite to said plate such that it exerts a constant force on it, a structure made of a plastic material with a parallelepiped shape which houses the aforementioned components of the collector, and a transparent cover placed on one of the greater faces of said structure on the side of the absorbent plate, wherein the structure consists of a frame formed by the four lateral faces of the parallelepiped that leaves the greater faces of the same open and is formed by injection of plastic material; said frame is reinforced by metallic profiles encapsulated in the aforementioned injection process, such that said profiles have a shorter length than the corresponding plastic sides of the frame, thereby leaving the corners of the frame with only plastic material and allowing the establishment therein of orifices formed in the frame injection process.

An advantage of said collector is the thermal insulation due to the encapsulation of metallic profiles, which as it is complete, avoids thermal bridges while ensuring the water-tightness of the frame, compared to structures in which the profiles are not encapsulated or are only partially encapsulated.

A further advantage is the robustness also provided by the encapsulation of metallic profiles in a closed plastic frame, which forms a structure with great resistance to the mechanical loads required of solar heat collectors.

A further advantage of said collector is its light weight, both absolute and specific for the aforementioned robustness, which makes it substantially superior to collectors in which different components of the structure and attachments are mounted separately.

Yet another advantage of said collector is its low number of components, resulting from the integration provided by the plastic injection process, which greatly reduces the number of components compared to collectors in which the components are assembled.

Finally, another advantage of said collector is its dimensional stability, which is of great importance in this field of the art so that energy efficiency is maintained throughout the working temperature range, achieved by the aforementioned structure of a metallic profile encapsulated in plastic and having few components joined by integration thereof, which minimizes the serial concatenation of expansions and contractions, resulting in greater dimensional stability with respect to known collectors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present specification is completed by a set of drawings that illustrate a preferred embodiment and in no way limit the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of components of the collector.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the frame, indicating the reinforcement profiles.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of one of the corners of the frame, showing the pipes.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of a profile view of a detail of one of the corners of the frame showing the pipes.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a profile view of a detail of the collector with a rear closing plate.

FIG. 6 shows a cross section of a profile view of a detail of the collector with a rear closing plate that includes a sheet on its lower greater face.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section of a profile view of a detail of the collector with a rear closing plate that includes a sheet in each of the greater faces.

FIG. 8 shows a cross section of a profile view of a detail of the collector with a rear closing plate of a foam plastic material.

FIG. 9 shows a cross section of a profile view of a detail of the collector with a rear closing plate of a foam plastic material that includes a sheet in its lower greater face.

FIG. 10 shows a cross section of a profile view of a detail of the collector with a rear closing plate of a foam plastic material that includes a sheet on each of the greater faces.

FIG. 11 shows an enlarged perspective view of orifices in the area near the edges of a rear closing plate.

FIG. 12 shows a cross section of the orifices of FIG. 11 with the rear closing plate encapsulated in the frame.

FIG. 13 shows an enlarged perspective view of one of the support legs of the frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention relates to a solar heat collector provided with a pipe (1) inside which flows an energetic fluid. For illustration purposes, a pipe (1) is cited that extends in the collector and is the common situation; however, several pipes (1) can be included that join at the same inlet and outlet as in the case where there is only one pipe (1) or at several inlets and outlets.

The collector comprises an absorbent plate (2) in contact with said pipe (1), normally made of copper or aluminum, with a treatment on its exposed face that enhances solar radiation absorption and reduces emission. This treatment can range from black paint to selective treatments using physical vapor deposition (PVD).

It also comprises an insulation (3) to prevent heat loss arranged in parallel to said absorbent plate (2) and on the side of the pipe (1) opposite to said plate (2), so that it exerts a constant force on said pipe (1).

The structure (4) of the collector is made of a plastic material, such as polyurethane (PU), with a parallelepiped shape which houses the aforementioned elements of the collector, and a transparent cover (5) made of tempered glass, for example, arranged on one of the greater faces of said structure (4) on the side of the absorbent plate (2). In this way, the structure (4) is insulating due to the inherent features of the plastic material and it is not necessary to add further insulation at the location of the plastic structure.

The structure is a frame (4) formed by the four side faces (4.1,4.2,4.3,4.4) of the parallelepiped leaving the greater faces open, formed by injection of plastic material such as by RIM (Reaction Injection Molding), said frame (4) being reinforced by metallic profiles (6) encapsulated in said injection process, so that said profiles (6) have a shorter length than the corresponding plastic sides of the frame (4.1,4.2,4.3,4.4), leaving the corners of the frame with only plastic material and thereby allowing the establishment therein of orifices (7) formed during the injection process of the frame (4).

Optionally and more typically the parallelepiped of the structure (4) is a right parallelepiped, such that the side faces (4.1,4.2,4.3,4.4) of the frame form a right angle to the greater faces.

The profiles (6) have different shapes such that their cross section approximately replicates the shape of the plastic that encapsulates them, in order to compensate the tensions of the plastic during the injection and subsequent stabilization in time. The shape of the metallic profiles (6) is meant to provide structural reinforcement or, in other words, minimize the moment of inertia in the axis perpendicular to the greater surface of the collector.

Thus, the profiles (6) have a rectilinear cross section, such as a constant inverted-Y cross section as shown in the figures, although they could be curved or have any other shape provided the aforementioned requirements are fulfilled.

Said metallic profiles (6) are preferably made of aluminum or galvanized steel, according to tests conducted on them.

The orifices (7) formed during the injection process of the frame (4) are of several types, one of which types is orifices (7.1) for the pipe, which have a greater diameter than said pipe and a circumference that includes a straight segment (7.1.1) at its upper end on which the pipe (1) rests at all times due to the force exerted on it by the insulation (3).

The reason for this configuration is that the pipe (1) expands in a different manner than the structure (4), and that they work at different temperature ranges, so that to prevent loads on the structure (4) the pipe (1) is allowed to expand freely. In addition, an important factor for the efficiency of the collector is a constant distance between the transparent cover (5) and the pipe (1), which is achieved by preventing the deflection of the pipe (1) and the absorbent plate(3) by the aforementioned configuration, which guarantees flatness, as well as with spacers (18) of the cover (5) as stated further below.

In addition, these orifices for the pipe (7.1) comprise a recess (7.1.2) facing out of the collector that is used to house the corresponding sealing gasket(8) and bushing (9), located at the end of the pipe (1).

This configuration seals the collector to prevent entry of rainwater with the sealing gasket (8), which can be fitted to provide a complete seal interfering with the recess or to prevent entry of rainwater while leaving a small air pocket to prevent condensation. This anti-condensation function is regulated and completed by some orifices (7.2) that connect directly to the injection and provide communication between the inside and the outside.

These orifices formed during the frame injection process are attachment orifices (7.3) used to attach some plates (10) on the outside of the orifices for the pipe (7.1) which withstand the pressure exerted on the connections of the pipe (1).

To reinforce the collector assembly, the transparent cover (5) is sealed by an adhesive onto the structure (4), instead of the sealing gasket commonly used. This requires considering that the materials are different and that an elastomeric adhesive is required with a thickness that guarantees its performance in the entire working temperature range.

For this reason, the structure (4) includes walls (4.5) for housing the sealing cord (11) of the transparent cover (5) along the perimeter of said frame (4). Advantageously, the housing walls (4.5) of the sealing cord (11) include separators (4.6) for the transparent cover (5) in the form of protrusions that guarantee the separation between the cover (5) and the frame (4) in the entire range of working temperatures of the collector, providing the dimensional stability needed to optimize the energy efficiency of the collector.

A frame (12) that protects the edge of the transparent cover (5) is placed on said transparent cover (5), preferably made of aluminum, and it is joined to the structure (4) by the same adhesion sealing process used for the cover (5). For this purpose, the frame (4) includes some housing grooves (4.7) in which some tabs (12.1) of the cover edge protection frame (12) are inserted with adhesive, and a sealing cord (13) is applied between said frame (12) and the transparent cover (5).

This adhesion sealing of the transparent cover (5) that makes use of the cover edge protection frame (12) reinforces the collector assembly substantially, making it very robust.

One of the advantages of the injection, as discussed above, is that it allows the plastic to encapsulate other parts or elements by enveloping them. This is also used in the rear closing plate (14), which is attached to the frame (4) by encapsulation along the perimeter with the plastic material of the injection, closing the face of the frame (4) opposite to the transparent cover (5).

Said rear closing plate (14) is meant to support the pressure exerted by wind, acting as a sail that transmits the loads to the perimeter of the frame (4).

In one embodiment, the rear closing plate (14) is made of a plastic material, such as polystyrene (PS), with a smaller modulus of elasticity than the aluminum plate that is normally used. As an alternative or attachment reinforcement, said plate (14) is provided with orifices (17) in the area near its edges and along the same, so that the plastic material of the injection is inserted in said orifices (17) to establish attachments in the form of rivets that encapsulate the plate on the perimeter.

In another embodiment, the rear closing plate is made of a foam plastic material (15), preferably polyurethane or poly-isocyanurate.

Both embodiments of the rear closing plate (14, 15) can have their lower greater face or both of their greater face covered with sheets that do not absorb or emit in the infrared band, such that they do not absorb the infrared radiation emitted by the pipe and do not emit infrared to the outside, in this way reducing the losses of the collector.

Some spacers (18) for the cover (5) are placed between the absorbent plate (2) and the transparent cover (5) to guarantee a constant separation between the plate (2) and the cover (5) by opposing the force exerted by the insulation (3).

The frame (4) comprises on the face with the insulation (3), that opposite to the face of the cover (5), some support legs (19) in the form of extensions parallel to the side faces (4.1,4.2,4.3,4.4) of the frame (4).

These legs (19) serve three purposes:

-   -   acting as guides in the assembly process, as the collectors         slide laterally on the profiles of the structure on which they         are assembled to be packaged in groups;     -   when the collectors are mounted on a structure in the form of         stands, that is with an inclination, the support legs (19) stop         the collector from falling due to gravity, securing its         attachment to the structure;     -   the top area of the support legs (19) simplifies the task of         stacking collectors, as it hold in place the collector stacked         on another collector by pressing against the protective frame of         the edge of the cover (12). 

1. Solar heat collector that comprises a pipe in which flows an energetic fluid, an absorbent plate in contact with said pipe, an insulation (arranged in parallel to said absorbent plate and located on the side of the pipe opposite to said plate such that it exerts a constant force on the same, a structure made of a plastic material with a parallelepiped shape which houses the aforementioned components of the collector, and a transparent cover placed on one of the greater faces of said structure on the side of the absorbent plate, wherein the structure comprises of a frame formed by the four side faces of the parallelepiped that leaves the greater faces of the same open and is formed by injection of plastic material, and said frame is reinforced by metallic profiles encapsulated in the aforementioned injection process such that said profiles have a shorter length than the corresponding plastic sides of the frame, thereby leaving the corners of the frame with only plastic material and allowing the establishment therein of orifices formed in the injection process of the frame.
 2. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein the structure is a right parallelepiped.
 3. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein the profiles have a cross section that matches the shape of the plastic which encapsulates them.
 4. Solar heat collector according to claim 3 wherein the profiles have a constant inverted-Y shape.
 5. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein the orifices formed during the injection process of the frame include orifices for the pipe with a smaller diameter than the same and a circumference that includes a straight segmen at the top end, on which the pipe is resting at all times due to the force exerted on the latter by the insulation.
 6. Solar heat collector according to claim 5 wherein the orifices for the pipe comprise a recess open towards the outside of the collector that houses the corresponding sealing gaskets and bushing.
 7. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein the orifices formed in the injection process of the frame comprise anti-condensation orifices connecting the inside and outside of the collector.
 8. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein the orifices formed in the injection process of the frame comprise attachment orifices for attaching some plates on the outer side of the orifices for the pipe that withstand the pressure exerted on by the connections of the pipe.
 9. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein the frame includes walls for housing the sealing cord of the transparent cover along the perimeter of said frame.
 10. Solar heat collector according to claim 9 wherein the walls for housing the sealing cord include separators for the transparent cover in the form of protrusions, such that they guarantee the separation between the cover and the frame in the entire range of working temperatures of the collector.
 11. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein the frame includes some grooves for housing some tabs of a frame meant to protect the edge of the transparent cover, in which said tabs are introduced with an adhesive, and a sealing cord is applied between said frame and the transparent cover.
 12. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein on the face opposite to the transparent cover is placed a rear closing plate that is attached to the frame by encapsulation along the perimeter of the same by the plastic material of the injection.
 13. Solar heat collector according to claim 12 wherein the rear closing plate is a plastic plate.
 14. Solar heat collector according to claim 12 wherein the rear closing plate is made of a foam plastic material.
 15. Solar heat collector according to claim 13 characterized in that the rear closing plate is covered on its lower greater face with a sheet that does not absorb or emit in the infrared band.
 16. Solar heat collector according to claim 13 wherein the rear closing plate has both of its greater faces covered by corresponding sheets that do not absorb or emit in the infrared band.
 17. Solar heat collector according to claim 12 wherein the rear closing plate has orifices in the area near its edges and along the same, such that the plastic material of the injection is introduced in said orifices to form attachments in the form of rivets that establish a peripheral encapsulation of the plate.
 18. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein spacers for the cover are placed between the absorbent plate and the transparent cover that guarantee a constant separation between the plate and the cover by opposing the force exerted by the insulation.
 19. Solar heat collector according to claim 1 wherein the frame comprises in the face of the insulation some support legs in the form of extensions parallel to the side faces of the frame.
 20. Solar heat collector according to claim 13 characterized in that the rear closing plate is covered on its lower greater face with a sheet that does not absorb or emit in the infrared band. 